The present invention relates to a method for coating the surface of an interior component for motor vehicles, in which at least one visible side of the interior component is provided with a preferably transparent surface layer, in that the interior component is positioned at a distance from a wall of a molded part in the region of its surface to be coated, so that a gap is formed between the wall and the surface to be coated, the gap is filled with a liquid surface coating material and said material is cured by exposure to ultraviolet radiation.
The invention also relates to a device for using such a method and an interior component which is produced by using the method.
Interior components with a coated, for example varnished, surface are increasingly being used for the interior trim of motor vehicles. Used in particular for this purpose are wooden molded parts, which may be formed as solid parts or as veneered parts. The latter are usually provided on their rear side with a reinforcing element, for example of plastic. On the visible side of the interior component, a transparent varnish or resin layer is generally applied, so that a usually glossy and hard-wearing surface is produced. In the case of wooden molded parts, the structure of the wood not only remains visible, but is additionally emphasized. For this purpose, the interior component is usually provided with a layer of varnish approximately 0.5 mm to about 0.8 mm thick.
The resins or varnishes are generally sprayed or painted onto the surface to be coated of the interior component. In this case, several layers are required, to obtain the desired sealing and a glossy surface. This results in a considerable outlay in terms of cost and time.
In DE 41 24 297 C2 it is alternatively proposed to apply a coating of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) to the interior component by injection molding. In this case, the PMMA material is intensely heated and pressed under very high pressure, usually over 400 bar, in fractions of a second into an injection mold, into which the interior component has been placed. The injection mold must in this case be formed in a very solid way on account of the high pressure and temperature loading.
In DE 43 20 893 C1 it is proposed to place the interior component into a cavity of a molded part, a gap being formed between the surface region to be coated of the interior component and the associated wall of the cavity, which gap is filled with the liquid surface coating material after the cavity has previously been evacuated, at least partially. This method also entails a not inconsiderable outlay.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for coating the surface of an interior component for motor vehicles which can be carried out in a cost-effective and simple way.